


all the ghosts (that are never gonna catch me)

by alienjack



Category: RWBY
Genre: Comfort, Depression, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, all lowercase as a stylistic choice, depressed taiyang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22475698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alienjack/pseuds/alienjack
Summary: “should i call uncle qrow?”tai feels his breathing stutter. “no, no, it’s okay. go finish getting ready for school, okay?”she nods, hesitating a moment before leaving.tai gets up. he has to.tai wakes up feeling low. his family loves him even on these days.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen & Ruby Rose & Taiyang Xiao Long & Yang Xiao Long, Qrow Branwen & Taiyang Xiao Long
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	all the ghosts (that are never gonna catch me)

when tai wakes up, he wants to pull the blankets over his head and pretend like the rest of the world doesn’t exist. the last thing he wants is to be awake. he thinks about how his bed is too big and how cold her pillow is and how sometimes it still feels like the day she left for the last time.

he swings his legs off the edge of the bed. he plants his feet on the wood floor. it takes him a few minutes, but he stands. shuffles to the hallway. he goes to ruby’s room first, stares at his little girl who is already eight years old and ready to fight monsters. she’s drooling, sleeping on her stomach with her hair a mess around her. it’s getting long, past her shoulders.

she’s the spitting image of her mother. it makes his chest ache.

he leaves her be for a few more minutes, moving to check on yang. it scares him to think that in just a few years she’ll be off to signal, fully unlocking her semblance. he’s seen her violet eyes flash red already, knows that it won’t be long before she figures out how to use it. for all the fire she inherited from him, she sleeps curled up, hair messy around her shoulders and strands of it across her face. she snores just a little bit. 

she’s so similar to her mother. it makes his chest ache.

he sits on the edge of her bed. brushes the hair from her mouth, gently caresses her cheek. “little dragon,” he whispers. “it’s time to get up.”

he sees her breathing shift. she stops snoring.

“c’mon. i know you’re awake.”

her eyes crack open. “am not.”

tai forces himself to smile. he loves her, so it’s easier than he thinks it would be; his whole body feels heavy, so it’s harder than it should be. “you need to get ready for school, baby.”

she groans. when he leaves her room, he hears her standing up. he doubts she’ll ever be much of a morning person-- summer wasn't either.

“ruby,” he whispers, kneeling next to her bed and giving her arm a gentle shake. “time to get up, sweetheart.”

she slowly blinks open those big silver eyes and smiles at him, sitting up and wiping at the drool on her chin. “can we have pancakes for breakfast?”

tai swallows around a sudden lump in his throat. he knows it’s irrational, but suddenly he hates himself for not being able to give her this. “how about pancakes tomorrow, huh?” he asks, watching her face fall.  _ “but _ there is a box of pumpkin pete’s in the kitchen with your name on it.”

that brings her vibrant expression back. with a cheer, she jumps up, rushing past him in her pjs to get to her beloved cereal. tai stays in her room, kneeling by her bed, for just a little longer. he doesn’t feel like he has the energy to get back up.

“dad?” yang whispers from the doorway.

he smiles at her. “just a little tired today, baby,” he tells her.

she doesn’t seem convinced. “should i call uncle qrow?”

tai feels his breathing stutter. “no, no, it’s okay. go finish getting ready for school, okay?”

she nods, hesitating a moment before leaving.

tai gets up. he has to.

they get to school on time. he gets them to school on time. he makes sure they eat breakfast and that ruby hasn’t put her shirt on backwards again and foils yang’s attempt to steal sips from his cup of coffee.

he goes home and goes back to bed and his lungs heave. his whole body aches. he shivers even though he’s under two blankets. eventually, he falls asleep. the next time he wakes up, it’s almost noon, and his stomach aches with both hunger and nausea. he doesn’t get up to eat. he stares at the ceiling until his eyes fall shut again.

the next time he opens his eyes, it’s dark.

“hey there, big guy,” qrow whispers, sitting right there, running his hand through tai’s hair. “yang said you weren’t feeling too hot today.”

tai tries to apologize. instead he feels himself start to cry, dry sobs that yank his chest and burn his throat.

“shh, shh, hey, it’s okay,” qrow tells him, hand moving from tai’s hair to gently stroke tai’s cheek. “it’s okay. i’m here.”

eventually, tai gets his breathing back under control.

“the girls are watching tv,” qrow tells him. “i also brought easy mac. they seem satisfied enough. worried about you, though.”

“sorry,” tai finally whispers. “i-- brothers, i didn’t even realize how late it got-- i just--”

“tai. it’s okay. i’m here and everything is fine.”

“okay.”

they sit for a little bit longer, until the telltale sound of footsteps comes down the hall. ruby peeks around the doorframe. “are we allowed to come in now?” she whispers.

“i think so,” qrow replies.

she beelines to tai’s bed, yang right on her heels, and they both clamber into the bed. ruby plops down right on her dad, while yang curls up against his side, hugging his arm.

“hey, hey,” qrow grumbles. “scoot over and give uncle qrow some room, too.”

he slides under the blankets on tai’s other side, nudging tai’s cheek with his nose like an affectionate cat. tai cracks a smile and huffs a small laugh. the weight of ruby sprawled on his chest grounds him. the squeeze of yang’s arms around his own grounds him. the familiarity of qrow’s gentle touch grounds him. suddenly, he feels a little less like his body is a dead weight, and his bed doesn’t seem so hauntingly big, and smiling at his family feels easier than it did this morning.

maybe tomorrow he’ll be able to make ruby pancakes for breakfast. he thinks there might still be a bag of chocolate chips in the pantry, assuming she hadn’t snuck in and eaten them all already.

**Author's Note:**

> taiyang defense squad is here to support our tired grieving dad who is doing his best


End file.
